TURNING POINT UPON US

Sir,

For me this ‘economic crisis’ should be a learning curve for Eswatini, it is now that the country should foster economic growth and development.
Some changes by government have been long overdue and should have been implemented by now.

The main incentive for one to even want to be an MP should not be for financial purposes but rather to serve the country with pride and to make a difference in our small kingdom.
But the ridiculous amounts of money politicians are getting seem to be the only driving force, a good example is the current Cabinet.
The benefits that ministers are getting are too much. Taxpayers are spending too much on Cabinet ministers. 
People are headed for poverty as a result of the tax regimes that have been introduced by government.

Some people have employees such as domestic workers, who will suffer because of pay cuts, meaning the dependents of those employees will suffer even worse, causing government to spend more on social responsibilities than it does now. 
Government should have long worked on a strategy to increase food security within Eswatini as this will reduce the cost of food within the country, thus reducing inflation and improving the standards of living. 

We have to start working on a strategy that will ensure that the country is self-efficient, use those involved in academia at the university to help towards developing strategies and try to retain those who are likely to get employed in other countries as this causes a brain drain. We have to stop depending on imports and start producing domestically.

Another issue of concern to me is the land policy; that is if we have one.
Most emaSwati are finding it hard to own land mainly because the land is very expensive; and mostly owned by faceless foreigners. 
The recruitment of armed forces personnel, especially soldiers, should also be something that should be looked at.
Almost every year the country recruits a large number of soldiers who end up doing nothing.

This is costing taxpayers huge amounts of money, in terms of uniform, housing, feeding etc.
I will not even go into government procurement. I recently ran into someone who said there’s always someone who is willing to pay E50 for a normal BIC pen.
For me this financial crisis signals that the country can change for the better. A few changes this year should lead to growth by next year. This is a turning point for us, our lesson to learn.

Thinker

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